


Levi Ackerman: Wolf Hunter

by Jinsdadjokes



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Angst, Chaptered, Fluff, Forensics, Gen, Hange is spelt Hanji, I'm Sorry, M/M, Mikasa died for a reason, Multi, Police, Werewolf!AU, Yeager is spelt Jaegar, dead!Mikasa, ereri, modern!AU, riren - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-02
Updated: 2015-12-01
Packaged: 2018-04-12 15:51:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4485571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jinsdadjokes/pseuds/Jinsdadjokes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Definition: Werewolf - A person who changes for periods of time into a wolf, typically when there is a full moon. A fantasy or legendary creature, related to sorts such as the mermaid or vampire, a werewolf is defined in folklore and superstition as a human being who has changed into a wolf, or is capable of assuming the form of a wolf, whilst retaining human intelligence.</p><p>Levi Ackerman was well known for his work within the Shiganshina police department. For four years, Levi had been the most recognized forensic scientist and animal expert within the building, but for the first time in his life, Levi was thrown when he was introduced to his latest assignment.</p><p>Never did he think that he'd be chasing wolves.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Case one: Eren Jaegar.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first multi-chapter fic based in this fandom so please treat me well! ~
> 
> [Updates will be as frequent as possible.]

With a small yawn as he stretched his arms over his head, the slender; dark haired boy slowly made his way towards the small kitchen of his apartment; wearing nothing but black jeans that clung to his legs and retained the warmth he was missing from his bed sheets. 

Levi Ackerman was well known for his work within the Shiganshina police department. He'd spent the last four years working with forensic science and animal expertise, which came as a surprise to him as to how often he would be called upon to help with certain investigations.

Stirring the dark liquid swimming in his cup, before tapping the spoon and throwing it into the sink with a small 'clink', Levi made his way over to the rugged sofa, throwing himself gently down in front of the quiet television before sighing heavily; the faint buzz of the TV echoing through his ears.

_"-After camping late out in the woods last night was found left for dead in the forest. Few witnesses who had escaped were acquainted with the victim, a young Eren Jaegar barely fled the scene alongside-"_

With a swift click of the remote, Levi quickly changed the channel, only to let out a groan as he was bombarded with the repetitive news story.

" _-Scene of the crime as Miss Mikasa Ackerman’s body was removed this morning. With the families permission, she will under-go autopsy to help discover her cause of death whilst the recognised witnesses go into questioning."_

Pouting lightly, Levi leant forward on his knees as he observed the report.

Levi's phone had been blowing up all night with calls from the department; his co-workers and friends working that evening to inform him of the previous event. It's not that he didn't care, but the case seemed like it wouldn't be one to die down quickly and Levi already knew he had a lot of work to do.

He had spent the last three weeks deeply investigating a case of possible murder. Levi had spent most of his time writing horrendous amounts of paperwork, barely sleeping and lurching over deceased bodies day in day out and the fact that one of the most brutal things to ever happen to a person could be dumped on him made him very unhappy.

Levi loved his job, he really did, and he cared for the citizens of Maria like they were his own family, but he couldn't help but wish that the department would stop depending on him as if he was the only forensic investigator in the building. Levi had many co-workers; there were always at least five people on duty at all times and yet he was always the first to hear news; always the first to be offered it and he saw the looks the rest of his co-workers gave him; he saw the half-arsed smiles and the smirks that said "why always you?"

But then again, maybe Levi should be grateful. He would moan about it, throw tantrums and complain all day long but maybe he was just that good, maybe, that's why he was so depended on..

Still, for someone who only gets about five hours of sleep a day, the dependence was starting to totally suck.

Pursing his lips slightly, the raven haired male began carefully blowing on the rim of his cup, cooling the caffeinated liquid before spreading his feet across the couch, not leaving any room for the house mate he heard slowly descending the stairs of their apartment. 

"Good Morning…" Levi heard the blonde grumble, his feet gently pushed off the couch before his house-mate made his way towards the kitchen; combing his short locks with his fingers.

"Morning..." They were men of few words when they'd just woken up, but Levi still greeted the other before averting his eyes back towards the television; watching almost transfixed the dark haired brunette who was fighting back tears; trying hard to deny any harsh questions held against him.

Levi didn't notice when Farlan had seated himself next to him; he only felt the blonde's presence when he began to shuffle awkwardly, trying hard to find a comfortable position to sit until he went with laying his legs across Levi's lap; eyeing the dark haired boy carefully and pleased when the raven didn't argue at his attempt.

Farlan worked at the same station as Levi except in different sectors. Farlan had spent the last two years working as an attorney and he had met Levi during an investigation they were both working on together. It pleased the boys to know that Farlan's client was innocent that day, and since then they had been pretty good friends. Farlan had originally lived in Trost, but in an attempt to be close to work, the shorter male had been nice enough to lend Farlan a room; letting him stay as long as he wanted until he was either ready to go back, or comfortable enough to move in with their red-headed friend.

Apparently, Farlan wasn't ready for either of those.

But he wasn't over staying his welcome, in fact, Levi enjoyed his company and so he wished the boy would stay for as long as possible; it had already been a year, what harm could another do?

"It's awful right?" The blonde started, sipping on his drink as he pointed towards the television. "Freaking disgusting, I'm glad I don't have to clean that up.."

"Mhmm.." Was all Levi managed in response as he downed the rest of his tea; gently pushing the other's legs off him before heading over to place his mug in the sink.

"Your phone woke me up; I'm guessing it was about this whole palaver?" Farlan continued, facing Levi slightly as he tried to initiate conversation with the obviously, over-tired boy.

"It wouldn't surprise me.."

"Nor me, this wouldn't be the first time you'd been called out like this."

"I'm sorry.."

"Don't be." Farlan turned to face the sleepy male, smiling lightly as he did because he wasn't angry at him, not in the slightest. "It's not your fault right? But really, you pulled a real short straw on this one.."

"You don't say.."

Levi began to squint slightly; harshly rubbing his eyes before he glanced at the clock on the far end of the wall.

-07:23 am-

"Eurgh..."

For some people, 7am may seem a reasonable time to be waking up, but Levi couldn't hide his disgust as he realized that yet again, he had less than five hours sleep. Last night, he had finished duty at two in the morning, not even getting the recommended hours of sleep a normal human being was required before he was horrifically woken up by, yet again, his work place. _He was beginning to think that department was becoming a little selfish…_

Feeling his phone vibrate in his back pocket, Levi slowly fished it out, checking the message as he received a curious look from the boy on the couch.

"Who is it?"

" **From – H-Z**

**_You, me, coffee shop in 30 mins? I got a call this morning, we should probably talk."_ **

With a sigh, Levi shook his head slightly before heading towards the tumble dryer, retrieving a plain, fitted grey tee and pulling it over his head.

"Just work, I'm gonna head out.. You coming?" Levi inwardly cursed to himself as he watched Farlan snuggle further into the couch, shaking his head.

"No thanks."

"It's your day off, isn't it?"

"Yeah.."

"How are you going to spend it?" Levi asked curiously, heading towards the door to collect his shoes as he watched the back of Farlan's head, waiting for an answer.

"I don't know.. Maybe sleep some more, have a shower.. Maybe I'll go see Isabel." 

Levi could sense the blonde's smile, even if he wasn't looking.

"I see.. I don't know why you're saying maybe though.." Levi started, wrapping a thick scarf around his neck before reaching for his coat. "Have a nice day, _bro_."

Farlan let out a small laugh, mentally reminding himself to punch his shorter roommate later before dragging himself towards the door after him.

"Yeah whatever, I'm going to bed."

Levi couldn't help but hide a small laugh at Farlan. If there was one way he could make himself feel better, it was to embarrass the blonde before he had to step out into the bitter cold morning. Pulling his scarf closer to his nose, Levi mentally braced himself, before opening the door and heading towards the town.

 

~~~

 

With narrowed eyes, Levi glared at the tall female in front of him; tightly gripping his hot chocolate even though he hadn't removed his scarf from his nose.

There was something about Hanji Zoe that just annoyed Levi in every way. He liked the girl, but maybe it was the way she so carelessly made her way around, covering every inch of their small table in paper work as she mumbled to herself under her breath; the way she would invite Levi out, but talk to herself more than she acknowledged him, or the way she would always order the other an orange hot chocolate, even though he asked for earl grey.

Every time, Levi asked for tea… He never did get it though.

The non-existent flavour crept along Levi's taste-buds, teasing the dark haired boy as he dragged a spoon through the hot, orange liquid, not once drinking it as he waited patiently for Hanji to begin speaking.

The raven let out a small cough, capturing the other's attention once he realized that if he waited much longer, he might actually begin to age..

"Oh.." Hanji started, removing her cap to show off her messy locks as she smiled. "Good morning; I suppose you've had a lot of messages over the course of the evening, right?"

Levi reluctantly nodded in response, earning a chuckle from the giant seated opposite him.

"Good, so have I, seems we shall be working on this one together!"

_Fucking great, "_ Oh?" Levi feigned his surprise. "I thought Petra or Auruo would have been put on this case..."

"Do you think I'm not good enough?"

"It's not that.. I'm surprised I'm on it myself really.." Levi lied, earning a small 'oh' and a dumb grin from the female as he made an attempt to drink the overly sweet liquid he had been using to warm his hands.

It's not that Levi didn't have faith in Hanji; in fact, she was probably the best person for the job, but Levi would openly admit that he'd rather stick pins in his eyes than hang out with her for more than thirty minutes at a time.

Hanji was messy; silly, and she had a tendency for making things her own.

The taller female had told Levi this herself once, but the raven hadn't realized the truth of her words until he arrived at his office one day to find it completely moved around; his work area completely, and shabbily re-organized, topped off with the grinning giant sitting crossed legged on his precious desk.

Levi didn't know if he could handle Hanji in the laboratory.. He bet that she wouldn't think twice about making it her own. 

That thought caused Levi to frown a little..

"So.." Hanji started, abruptly pulling Levi out of his day dream as she began licking her finger, before flicking through the mountain of paper she had sprawled across the table. 

Pulling out a familiar sheet; Hanji passed the page to the other who investigated it half-heartedly.

 

 EREN JAEGAR.

Age: 19.

Occupation: Student.

Reason for arrest: Suspected of the murder of Mikasa Ackerman, student age 18.

Additional note: Eren Jaegar was found with the victim on day of death. Jaegar is to be taken into further questioning, yet so far denies any attempt of murder upon the victim.

Officer report: Erwin Smith.

 

Levi scrunched his nose up at the text, clearly unimpressed as he gazed upon the notes.

“Great, more youngsters of the new generation dying before their lives have even begun. _It’s sad to say she’s probably rather lucky to have escaped._ ” Levi mumbled the last part, ignoring Hanji’s questioning stare before he shook her off, scratching his hairline before he spoke up.

“Wasn’t there more than one witness at the scene?” Levi asked confused as Hanji rested her elbows on the table, supporting her chin with her folded hands.

“Mmm yes, there was a blonde but he’s been let go, he was no trouble at all. Complete sweetheart really.” She replied with a smile, causing Levi’s brows to furrow in slight confusion and resent for her infatuation.

"Right… So, it doesn't say that they are siblings, or have any kind of family relation to each other, so what else would they be doing camping together? Were they friends, or lovers? Have any documents come back about his questioning yet?"

Quickly scrambling through the yellow folder on her lap, Hanji sifted through, pulling out only a small sheet that held minimal detail before placing it onto the table.

"Only this…" she sighed, pushing it towards the dark haired male.

 

EREN JAEGAR.

Eren is refusing to answer further questions.

After questioning the relationship Eren had to the victim, suspect fell silent with tears and refused to answer further questioning.

No obvious evidence of any attempted murder has been revealed, but Eren’s clothes have been sampled alongside other witnesses for any traces of blood or DNA that may belong to Mikasa Ackerman. 

Eren was not found with any weapon that could fit the description of the victim's wounds.

When questioned as to why suspect's hands were blood stained, Eren gave a recorded response.

Eren Jaegar: "I didn't know what to do, I couldn't leave her there. I tried to stop the bleeding, but it was too much. I held her in my arms because I was too afraid to leave her alone.  I was too busy hoping she would speak to me. I guess I forgot about all the blood. Do you really think I would hurt her?"

Further questioning has been put on hold.

Officer report: Erwin Smith.

 

Levi felt himself unconsciously frown as he read the useless report. In all his years of work, Levi had to admit that this was the smallest amount of information he had ever received on such a case. Most suspects would answer every single question in the hopes of leaving the station earlier, whether they were innocent or not; but what confused the raven was that the suspect of this case didn't want to answer further questions; he'd rather make things harder for himself, and stay in the station even longer.

Maybe Eren didn't really know what he was letting himself in for; his photograph wasn't exactly the most intimidating that Levi had ever seen.

"Why is he refusing further questioning?" Levi asked, his eyes still glued to the report as he scanned over it once more, not looking at the brunette opposite him.

"I'm not sure… Maybe he's had enough."

"But surely he's just making it worse for himself?"

"Levi, I've seen the victim's body... I'm not really surprised that Eren doesn't want to be hassled right now."

Levi raised his head slightly, glaring at the other with confusion as he tucked the report back into the pile on the table.

"You saw her? When?"

"Earlier, she was brought in at around five am.. I'm technically still on duty."

"Is it that bad?"

"You wouldn't believe..." 

Levi tilted his head as he listened to the scientist's response, pouting slightly as he watched Hanji visibly shiver at the memory, _although with it being Hanji, he couldn’t tell if she shivered with excitement or disgust_.

"Hmm… So further questioning has been put on hold right? What has he left to be asked?"

"Not too much, most has been covered but depending on the response, he still might be with us for a while..." Hanji replied, pulling a slightly larger sheet from the yellow folder, before carefully passing it over the table towards the dark haired male.

Levi felt honestly sorry for the suspect, he looked like he couldn't hurt a fly, and Levi knew as well as Hanji just how harsh the questioning could be.

 

EREN JAEGAR:  [Draft] Suspect Questioning.

~~Form filled on birth date, occupation and further information.~~   
~~What was the suspect was doing on the night of the victim's death?~~   
Suspect's relationship to the victim.   
~~Were suspect and victim on good terms before the victim's death?~~   
~~Tell us about Mikasa Ackerman.~~   
~~Did Mikasa do anything to anger the suspect prior to their evening together?~~   
The last thing the victim did that angered suspect.   
~~Questioning the blood on Eren's clothes and hands.~~   
What did the victim mean to Eren?   
How will the victim's death effect your [Eren’s] life?   
Final question: Did Eren Jaegar kill Mikasa Ackerman? 

[Minimal intimidation towards the suspect is advised, but a more assertive approach will not be denied.]

Officer report: Erwin Smith.

 

With a heavy heart, Levi silently passed the sheet back to Hanji, before standing up and raising his coat from his chair.

Levi knew something about the way the department dealt with their questioning just wasn't fair. He knew they had to try their best to get any useful information they could; even if that meant intimidating the suspect, but the questions always appeared too harsh.

"What did the victim mean to you. How will their death effect your life. Did you kill them?"

Such bold and careless questions; Levi hadn't met the suspect yet but from what he'd read about him, he could only imagine that it was going to be hard for the boy to answer those.

No wonder he'd tried to put any further questioning on hold, Levi imagined that the poor boy could barely breathe with all the officers screaming things like that in his face. He knew exactly why Eren had been crying after hearing some of the questions he'd been asked. Levi imagined that Eren had cried through frustration and pure sadness.

He wondered what it was like to really cry when you were sad. Levi only really shut down, his whole mind and body would turn numb but it was difficult to cry; he imagined that it hurt a lot.

And to know some of the questions that Eren actually had the guts to answer...

"Tell us about Mikasa Ackerman."

Levi wanted to get to the station right away and listen to the recording; maybe even meet the boy.

He got away with an awful lot for a forensic investigator.

"Hanji, I want to go to the station; are you coming?"

Levi didn't really want to invite Hanji, but the scientist had a car and so he guessed she could be useful for some things.

"But you don't start for another couple hours, are you sure you want to go now?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Maybe I'll get off earlier tonight, right?" Levi huffed a poor excuse for a laugh, a smug smile playing on his lips as he watched the messy female abruptly stand from her seat, quickly packing away her mess before throwing on her coat and linking arms with the dark haired boy. Why she did that Levi never knew, but he didn't question it, he was used to it by now.

With a small, hidden smirk, Levi nodded as he agreed with Hanji’s response.

"Sure, we'll take my car!"

 


	2. Case one: Eren Jaegar is none of your business.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi wants to meet Eren, but first he needs permission.

Interrupted by nothing but the soft clicking of his boots, Levi carelessly made his way through the station’s front reception; ignoring anyone in his way as he headed towards the office of his current chief of subject. Although Levi got away with more than he should, (a lot more…) he still wanted to confirm his rights with his chief to listen to Eren’s statements, or to have the pleasure to meet the boy.

As a forensic scientist, Levi really had no part in the investigation but to find out the depths of Mikasa’s injuries and to examine the DNA traces, but the dark haired investigator always took an interest in his subjects background; he really had no place in finding out who Mikasa Ackerman’s official murderer was, nor did he have any place in questioning any suspicious suspects but he still liked to push his luck and often, he was allowed the privilege of sticking his nose into business that really didn’t involve him in any way.

He had gained this ever fortunate privilege after taking it upon himself to do some nosey, side investigating on a former murder case he was tracing DNA samples for. It was after Levi had (sneakily) eves-dropped on an interview his chief was having with murder suspect, Isabel Magnolia that Levi had figured himself that the red-head could never have killed her own mother.

Isabel’s interview seemed a lot like what he had heard of Eren’s. Something about the way the girl cowered when faced with difficult questions, and the visibly sick look she had on her face when asked if she had injured the woman before death lit a match inside Levi that invisibly told him that Isabel Magnolia definitely had nothing to do with any injury sustained on her mother. Later that evening, Levi had discovered from the elder woman’s body wounds and in the traces of her blood that she had brutally had her throat ripped apart by the family dog after startling it coming home late one night, and like the gentleman he was, Levi went to the chief the next day along with Isabel’s attorney Farlan before their court hearing, and told him his discovery.

Safe to say, Isabel was let go and Levi was informed that he was welcome to take further interest in any future investigations he was to be part of. Of course, he had to tell his chief he had overheard the interview first, (definitely not eves dropped.)

Ignoring the fact that he had lost his clingy giant, Hanji quite a few abnormally fast steps ago, the short raven pulled his scarf from his nose, ruffling his hair and removing his shoes before mustering up an adorably –fake and barely existent- smile, then gently knocking on the mahogany wood of the office door; the glass covered with a closed blind.

Upon the other side, the dark haired investigator opened the door as he heard a soft, ‘come in.’

Once he entered the room, Levi’s smile faltered, but to keep his innocence he forced his mouth back into his signature grin as he watched the unknown male seated opposite his chief stand, flashing a sour look at the investigator before abruptly leaving the room with a slam of the door. Pursing his lips with his hands behind his back, Levi carefully made his way over to the desk.

“Am I interrupting something?” Levi asked curiously, genuinely confused as to who the former was that had ruined his unforgettably adorable entrance, (because how else could he get what he wanted?)

“No, not really.” A taller, and much larger blonde replied, stretching his arms over his head before patting his hands onto the desk. “Sit down Levi, what is it you need today?”

With a polite and slightly over-used smile, the short raven gracefully pulled out the seat opposite the desk before seating himself down and crossing his slim legs.

The office wasn’t exactly the most comforting room to be in. It was more like a student’s bedroom.

Perhaps Levi was being too polite…

The office was a shit-hole. The only source of light was the large window at the back of his chief’s head, lighting up the office’s dingy brown walls as well as the wooden flooring. As a bonus to the over-flowing trash can next to the chief’s rather expensive looking desk, there were papers covering every inch of the room and Levi couldn’t believe that he actually had to take his shoes off to enter this place. A voice in the back of Levi’s mind told him that his shoes might have actually cleaned this place up a bit but he didn’t want to push it. In reality it was a shame; the office had so much potential and yet the chief let it get so unbelievably disgusting.

Well, it was not much on Levi’s apartment but he blames Farlan for their mess. It’s definitely Farlan’s fault, since Levi’s room was consistently immaculate, _if he did say so himself._

“I just wondered how you are chief. You seem healthy and your skin looks nice, did you eat well today?”

Raising his hand to his face as well as raising his large brows, chief investigator, Erwin Smith carefully touched his skin, before smiling at the boy opposite him.

“Really? I’ve been eating healthily lately, I didn’t think it would pay off. I’m glad someone noticed, I ate well today, the deputy fed me well.”

Levi was really happy that Erwin often fell for his bullshit. He was lucky that his chief was as gullible as he was convincible, and in fairness he was grateful that he was placed with him so often; it was easier to get what he wanted this way.

“He did? What did he feed you? I mean, you’re practically glowing, it’s quite hard to ignore!”

“So many new vegetables you wouldn’t believe, it’s cleared me up nicely. I drink more water now too, you should also Levi, stop drinking tea and have water instead, and it’ll do you good!”

Leaning his elbows on the desk, Levi let out a small laugh, nodding his head before pulling his best puppy eyes. Now that they were on good terms…

“I will Erwin I promise… Anyway, I need to leave soon to get down to the lab but I was wondering if I could bother you for something?” the raven started.

“You’re not a bother Levi.” Erwin replied, leaning back slightly in his chair as he eyed the boy curiously. “Ask away, what do you need?”

“I want to see Eren Jaegar’s interview recordings.. Well, hear them. Or meet him. I know it’s none of my business but I think it would help me determine whether or not I think he killed Mikasa Ackerman.”

Much to Levi’s displeasure, Erwin’s former smile contorted into a more unsettled frown.

“Levi can’t you just tell from the body whether or not Eren could have inflicted any damage to the girl?” Erwin replied, raising a brow as he sat up straight in his seat.

“Well, yes, I suppose.. But..”

“So is it really necessary that you talk to him?”

As much as he hated to admit it, Levi knew deep down he was pushing his luck, but something told him that his intentions would work out for the better. Deep down, he also had a gut feeling that if he didn’t speak his true intentions fast, he would be removed from the office empty handed, _which is the last way he intended to go_.

“I just.. Think… I think that if I meet him or listen to his interview, I will be more informed on the case and it’ll be better for me. I’ll work harder, if I know all the details it will be easier for me to determine whether Mikasa’s wounds could have even been caused by a human or whether or not she could have possibly been injured by an animal instead.. They were in the woods Erwin, It’s not like she couldn’t have been attacked by a wolf or a bear.. I know it sounds unnecessary chief but I really think it’ll help me determine my final verdict on the results... Won’t you let me?”

Pouting slightly, Levi averted his gaze from the other male who sighed in his seat. Levi felt defeated, he really should have thought of what he was intending to say before he just waltzed on into the chief’s office. His spout of bullshit really could have had him removed from the office immediately if it was anyone else, but much to Levi’s luck, Erwin was Erwin, and so Levi’s signature smile returned to his face as the blonde male leaned across his desk, patting the investigator’s hands to get his attention.

“I will arrange a time for you to meet Eren in the next week. It might be out of hours but it’s the best I can do, until then, here’s the questioning we have answers for, _don’t let anyone else see it_ , not even Mike or we’ll both be in big trouble. That’s all I can do for now Levi.”

With a slight, unnatural squeak, Levi snatched the yellow folder from the chief’s hands, smiling brightly before saluting to the blonde as he rose from his seat.

“Thank you Erwin! I need to work but I’ll come to you in a few days. I’ll be going first okay?”

“You’re welcome Levi, work hard today.”  Erwin replied with a smile, waving off the dark haired boy who had made his way to the door, evidently happy with the outcome of his visit.

“I will, thank you again!”

After placing on his shoes and closing the door behind him Levi hugged the folder to his chest with a smile, before making his way down the darkly lit corridor and towards the laboratory. Unable to contain his excitement for his findings, the short investigator scanned the area, making sure no other staff member was in sight before slightly peeling open the envelope to read the report.

 

EREN JAEGAR: [Draft] Suspect Questioning.

 

Levi felt his cheekbones falter as he read down the paper.

Erwin had given him the same report he had received from Hanji this morning.

With a loud; annoyed groan that even startled himself, Levi shoved the report back into the envelope, stuffing it into his bag before throwing the fashionable satchel over his shoulder. Releasing a puff of air, Levi picked up his feet, strutting quickly towards the brightly lit laboratory before entering his pin code.

“God damn it, Hanji Zoe.”

It certainly wasn’t Levi’s fault… He was definitely going to be having words with Hanji about this.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter to begin introducing all the characters that are important asap so I can get Eren involved. (✿◠‿◠)  
> Feedback is appreciated [especially since the next chapter will be a bitch to write] but either way silent readers i love you ^u^.
> 
> #erwinisgullibleforlevi #probablybecausehesshort #cutetolookat #cantsaynotothatface ok im going


	3. Case one: Eren Jaegar will meet you soon.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that Levi has Erwin's permission, he has to play the waiting game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry about these chapter titles I'm just making this up as I go along really, anyway enjoy ~
> 
> P.S Warning because some descriptive stuff that people might find gross, nothing severe but don't say i didn't warn you..

Using his free hand to feel through the darkness, Levi flicked on the laboratory light switch before crossing the empty room in order to change his clothes.

The lab was nothing Levi had ever taken much interest in. It was bland; the sunlight from the large windows that reflected off of the pristine white counter tops hurt his eyes and if he looked at the array of test tubes lined up at the right angle, he could capture the sight of a small rainbow effect reflecting from them.

The laminated flooring hugged the raven’s shoes as he walked across the area to hang up his scarf, before changing into light blue overalls and slipping on his slightly oversized lab coat, which he rolled up once at the cuff.

Levi didn’t spend much time in the laboratory; it was more of Hanji’s area and he managed to avoid it as much as possible _, even sometimes getting away with palming his work off onto her since she enjoyed the area so much._

In the next room which was at a further distance from the lab, and required a small set of stairs to enter, Levi spend most of his time descended into the offices closer to the morgue held at the bottom of the station’s hospital. The rooms were _just as lively_ as the last; one of the areas decorated large holes in the walls which held the deceased and the other led to a hallway, splitting off into 3 small offices and one larger work area in which the scientists could further their discovery on their current subject or work.

Hanji had told him this morning that Mikasa’s body had arrived earlier that day, and so pulling on his _highly fashionable_ (but also greatly required) work clogs the pale raven quickly made his way across the current room, before opening the sealed door and lightly skipping down the stairs.

Of course being greeted by a wall hiding a hundred bodies wasn’t the best was to start his day, but Levi wasn’t a morbid person, and he was used to it enough that he entirely ignored the situation before making his way to the large office area down the end of the hallway. Levi’s schedule for the day was rather empty but he figured he could get a start on the case in the hopes of getting on Erwin’s good side. Deep down, the raven knew he would be provided with his request to meet Eren at any time but he figured getting a head start on the case would succeed with him in the chance of having a quicker arrangement.

As Levi opened the door a small realization hit him. He was thinking about the situation in all and he felt nervous about meeting the brunette. He had convince himself that this would help his investigation but there was something about the way the witness held himself that didn’t sit right with Levi. Of course the boy had been visibly shaken during his interview but Levi could see that Eren had a fire inside him that was not to be messed with.

Levi could see it in his eyes.

Those eyes… _They were quite pretty._

“Uh?” Running his hand across his face and through his hair, Levi brought himself out of his day-dream, shrugging off the thought before peering through the door to spot a small redhead seated at a computer, her eyes visibly strained as she sipped at her coffee.

The smaller female seemed surprised by Levi’s appearance; putting down her coffee, her eyes widened as she rose from her seat before wiping her lip with a small greeting.

“Mm, Good morning Levi!”

“Good morning to you, Petra.” Levi gave the girl a small half smile in response, before making his was over to the work area; pulling open one of the drawers near her desk and flicking through the contained folders.

“Levi, aren’t you early?” Petra began confused, picking up her almost cold coffee. “Your shift isn’t for another few hours I’m sure?”

Ignoring the fact that the girl had somewhat memorized his working hours, the raven pulled out one of the folders, only to sigh and replace it as the initials read “M.F.”

“Yeah you’re right, but I heard that Mikasa Ackerman’s body was delivered today and I wanted to check it out.” Levi started, “Petra, you wouldn’t happen to know her door code would you?”

With a small “Mm!” and a raise of her eyebrows, the redhead removed the cup from her lips, placing it back onto the side as she walked back round to her computer.

“Ackerman, Ackerman… Did you know the girl Levi?” Petra asked curiously, earning an honest reply from the raven.

“No.”

“Hmm, it’s strange.” Petra pursed her lips as she scanned through the computer’s files, a small tutting sound filling the silence as Levi folded his arms patiently.

“I’ve definitely seen it… Ah, see! Here she is, Mikasa Ackerman, aged 18, brought in at 4:46am and so on… Here we are, door code 036, she’s back in the first room Levi, do you need assistance?”

Shaking his head Levi thanked the girl before closing the drawer he had previously opened.

“No I’ll be fine, but thank you Petra.”

“Levi!” Levi headed towards the door, only looking back over as he heard the redhead call his name shyly.

“Uh, when you’re next free, let’s go for coffee maybe?” Petra started, her cheeks visibly flushed and she avoided the raven’s face. “We can invite the others, or Hanji? I just think we could all use time to hang out, heh.” Petra frowned slightly at her words as she scratched her neck, anticipating Levi’s response and surprised to see the raven’s face decorated with a small smile.

“I’d like that Petra. Maybe we could together, I can’t handle Hanji for too long.”

With a shy nod, Petra waved Levi off as he left the office, closing the door behind him before he headed towards the small morgue. Petra was cute; Levi wasn’t sure she was his type but she was cute.

_He would keep telling himself that._

~~~

 

As he made his way into the dim morgue, Levi flicked on a different set of lights before scanning the first set of drawers. Since the top shelf read “10-20”, Levi instantly praised whoever had put Mikasa’s body on the row above the bottom and was thankful for his easy access. As he walked along the room, Levi carefully grazed his fingertips across the cool metal of the doors, counting the numbers along the way and stopping as he silently mouthed the words “thirty six.”

Slowly removing his fingers from the metal, Levi crouched in front of the drawer before staring at the small metal plaque.

The whole thing seemed surreal to Levi every time he did it. Although it was his job, it was still so strange to have to pull open a drawer and be welcomed by a lifeless body. A mother, a doctor, Christ the body could have held the life of a software developer for all he cared but it always hit Levi that one day, he too could be looked at this way. All of his memories gone in the blink of an eye; his life erased so fast and nobody in the world would ever be anything like the person beyond the metal door in front of him; nobody would ever share their experiences, their emotions and their memories.

Levi raised his hand, gently grazing his fingers across the engraved metal of the plaque.

“036.”

Levi wondered, _would he live to reach 36 years old?_

It wasn’t a hard judgement, Mikasa had only reached eighteen. The girl had lived a poor eighteen years before anything she could have become was taken from her.

Levi tried not to let it get to him; yet that didn’t mean he enjoyed it.

With an audible sigh, the pale raven stood from his spot on the floor; placing Mikasa’s folder down by his feet as he reached for her door’s handle.

The beds holding the bodies slotted into the walls, requiring them to be pulled out for viewing and so Levi clasped a hand on the cool handle, ready to push down to release the metal until a _clunk_ of a different kind met his ears. Before he could turn to face the intruder, the raven felt a stiff hand on his shoulder, a high pitched scream of his name piercing through his ears as he was turned violently around.

“ _Leviii!”_

Grasping the girls hand with a frown, the smaller male pushed the scientist away, rubbing his ears in the process.

“Good lord Hanji, don’t you know how to greet people like a normal pers-”

“Levi we’re you going to examine Mikasa without me?” Hanji had the audacity to look upset as she questioned the other, whilst walking over to the metal door and grasping the handle. “We’re working on this together remember?! Umf-” _Clunk._

Hanji visibly jolted backwards, only missing the floor thanks to Levi who pushed her lower back as she almost slammed into him.

“Phew! She was locked up real tight wasn’t she eh?!” Hanji laughed, her face decorated in a wide grin (the complete opposite of Levi’s) as she turned to face him before leaning down to grab the bed, unlocking the wheels and rolling the body out into the back room for examination.

Levi watched as Mikasa’s deceased body jolted on the bed whilst Hanji practically ran her into the back room.

Levi always hated how careless she was. He knew she was _weirdly excited and eccentric_ but even if he told her that her forms of travel were disrespectful she still continued. Levi truly believed he was a complete joke to her, no matter how much she denied it.

With his arms crossed in displeasure, Levi slowly followed Hanji over to the bed, removing his jacket and placing on a mouth mask as Hanji frantically copied before pulling the sheet away from the deceased girl’s body.

With a small laugh crossed between sad and borderline creepy, Hanji peered over the girl before turning to face the shorter scientist.

“Heh, see, what I tell you? Isn’t it almost the worst thing you’ve ever seen?! _There’s no way those little cinnamon bun boys could have done this!_ ”

Ignoring the taller, Levi looked over to what was formerly Mikasa Ackerman.

Mikasa’s hair was short and dark, tucked over to one side and revealing her exposed neck, which was deeply wounded with severe cuts diagonally across the left side. Her skin shredded down to her collar bone, hanging loosely and showing deep enough to expose white cartilage in her throat as her muscles strained against the bruising, leaking against the sheet by her side. As Levi looked up to her face, her eyes were dark with bruising, the left side of her face decorated a scar the same as the ones on her neck, spreading down to her cheekbone and up to her forehead, her eye visibly gouged and spread across her face, collected in dried blood as the one not damaged stared blindly.

Levi had to supress a gag. _Almost the worst thing he’d ever seen?!_ Hanji made quite the understatement.

With a frown, Levi reached up to the girl’s face, his gloved hand carefully closing her right eye as he tried to avoid looking at the complete disaster that was the other side of her once beautiful features.

“This is disgusting. I can’t believe you didn’t even close her _fucking eyes you selfish bastard.”_ Levi growled, glaring at Hanji with a frown who only sniggered in response.

“Close her eyes? Do you want the other one closed too?”

“Do you think you’re _fucking funny?!”_

“I try to make the best of a bad situation.” Hanji shrugged, huffing a laugh before grabbing a pair of tongs and peeling back some of the exposed skin on the deceased girl’s neck. “I think you’d find me funny, right Mikasa? I’m sure you were much more fun than _Mr grumpy gills_ over there hmm?”

How Hanji could even break a smile in a situation like this was beyond Levi, but he chose to ignore her comments until he heard the metal door to their work area knocked lightly.

Without warning, the raven felt a shove on his chest, the metal tongs decorated in blood as they were shoved forcefully into his hands.

“Here, hold this!” Hanji started; Levi instantly placed the tongs back onto the bed and away from himself as he went back to making notes, the other scientist jogging quickly up the stairs to answer the door as Levi decided to cover Mikasa’s body from any visitors.

“Ah, Petra!”

Levi turned his attention away from the deceased, and towards the door. The petite girl looked his way, a small smile dressing her features as she tilted her head.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, Levi, Erwin said he needs to see you as soon as you’re not busy, but don’t rush.”

With a small nod, Levi removed his gloves as Hanji watched him with confusion.

“It’s okay, I’m done with this for now. Hanji,” The taller female watched the raven with a questioning look as he took off his mask. “You have no problems putting this away do you?”

Much to his pleasure, Hanji seemed more than happy to oblige his request.

“Of course not! Come back when you’re finished okay? I want to look into this more!” She smiled, jumping down the few steps and carelessly rushing over to take Levi’s place against Mikasa’s body.

“Sure, whatever. Thank you Petra.” With a small half smile, Levi left the area, grabbing his lab coat and gently passing the girl before heading towards the chief commander’s office.

Though why he was called in, he was admittedly unsure.

 

~~~

 

Slipping off his shoes, the short raven knocked on the mahogany wood of the door once more, not even waiting for the taller male’s response before letting himself inside, the door already open a crack with the officer visibly seated at his desk, his feet resting on the edge.

It seemed Erwin knew Levi would arrive fast since he already had a cup of tea laid out for him on the table, and so with a hand grazed through his hair, Levi made his way towards the desk, before sitting down and grasping the cup.

After sipping the tea, Levi raised his head as the blonde began to speak.

“I was going to fill it with water, but I didn’t think you’d approve too much.” The blonde laughed, earning a small, inaudible laugh from the raven too who continued to sip his tea.

“That’s true... But I’m sure you didn’t call me here for tea?” Levi responded, earning a small smile from the officer who turned to face the raven, putting his feet down onto the floor.

“You’re right. I heard that Petra asked you out for coffee earlier, thought I’d get in there first.”

“Mhmm, is that so,” Levi smirked against the rim of his cup, _Hanji must have heard them._ Placing the cup down, Levi stretched his arms before leaning against the desk. “But really, why am I here? Is there something I can help with?”

Glad that the raven understood his humour, the larger male placed a small folder on the table before glancing at the raven.

“We’ve had some new information about the case you’re working on and, well unfortunately we’ve had to call in Eren Jaegar and Armin Arlert for more witness questioning. I figured since they will be here, you may as well stand in on it, if you so wish.”

Levi was surprised to have his wish arranged so quickly, and although he hadn’t heard anything about this Armin kid, _he assumed it was the boy Hanji was so fond of,_ he figured that he may as well take the opportunity whilst it was on offer; he was sure he had the time anyway.

“Sure, I’ll be there.” Levi started, “When is it, next week? I’ll have to tell Hanji to do her own examinations.” Levi questioned, not that he really cared much about Hanji and it’s not like she wouldn’t enjoy herself, _let’s be honest._

But much to Levi’s surprise, Erwin addressed him with a much sooner date.

“They’ll be here today at 4pm and may be kept overnight depending on how the situation plays out. Go home Levi, get some rest and be back here around half three. I’ll arrange everything with Hanji and all you need to do is make sure you’re there.”

With a surprised stare, Levi thought over the situation before readdressing the male before him.

“Today? Are you sure?”

“Yes, go on home Levi, just be sure to make it back in time.”

And Levi did just that, except, he was feeling exceptionally nervous all of a sudden.

 

 


	4. Wasted effort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi tries to get Eren to communicate; perhaps he shouldn't have involved himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short-ish update. Please forgive the time it took to write this; I've moved away from home so whilst i may have more time to write; I also feel exceptionally lonely which put me off for a while but it's okay because we have snk and this isn't important, happy reading ~

With brisk steps, Levi swiftly made his way through the station’s reception as fast as he could without breaking into a run.

Fortunately for the raven, he wasn’t late for the scheduled questioning; the clock of his mobile shining a bright “15:47”, contrasting with the notification of Hanji’s message saying, “Don’t worry, I’ve got this!!” before he locked the screen, placing the silver metal device into his back pocket and heading off to the questioning room labelled “104.”

Levi was usually more casual with his appearance but interviews required professional standards, and so the pale raven took respect to Erwin’s unvoiced wishes and had decided on a smart fitted suit to cover his more minor tattoos and scars.

Although Erwin hadn’t directly requested for the other to dress in the attire, Levi recognised his approving gaze as the shorter male entered the room in which the boys would be questioned.

“Good afternoon Levi, I’m glad you’re on time.” The Chief smiled, setting up the recorder on the desk as Levi replied with an acknowledged grunt, loosening his tie slightly whilst the taller, blonde male explained to the other officers that Levi’s presence was more than welcomed under his conditions.

Not like Levi cared anyway.

Pulling his identity tag over his head, Levi leaned coolly against the wall behind him with one leg against it to support his weight as the Chief seated himself alongside another unfamiliar officer at the desk.

Levi didn’t care much for the officer; in fact he looked a lot like the more jealous man he had seen leaving the Chief’s office the other day and so only when he recognised his own name being called did the raven realise he had been staring… Oops.

“Levi?”

“Mm?” the shorter male responded to the blonde, his expression showing no signs of anything but boredom to which the Chief couldn’t hold back a small smirk.

“You ready?”

After glancing down at his nails once, Levi shrugged his shoulders, letting out a huff in response.

“Sure whatever, let’s get this over with.”

Levi acted bored but he knew Erwin could see right through him, and so with a small laugh and a wink of his right eye, the Chief addressed for their protective officer to bring in the boys in questioning.

 

~~~

 

Levi listened in intently on the interview. There was nothing more he could do, he wasn’t a detective so he wasn’t welcomed to step in on the questioning but he guessed he’d hoped it’d be a little more… Useful.

Their protective officer had led the boys to their seats; a truly fragile blonde and the brunette Levi knew to be Eren greeted the officers with pure silence, all except for the few, over-extended puffs of air the blonde was releasing in order to regulate his breathing and a set down stare from Eren, who was glaring at the table like it had offended him personally.

Levi didn’t know what to expect from the stand in, but he was surprised to be as genuinely bored as he had tried to portray before the boys had entered. Erwin had started the recorder, the other boys saying barely anything other than when they were addressed to give their names and then the brunette had remained in pure silence; his breathing barely audible as he let the blonde answer all that needed to be asked, and giving Erwin a brief shrug of his shoulders when he was asked directly; his eyes never leaving the table.

Levi had already began day dreaming during the time spent in the stuffy room, occasionally being brought back whenever the smaller blonde accidently let out a high pitched tone, likely to try and fight back any emotion he didn’t want to show and Levi had heard the warnings Erwin had given Eren, telling him his lack of cooperation would land him with being here for the rest of the day, not forgetting to mention that he’d be under arrest.

But the raven had expected more from the two boys seated at the table. He thought they’d try to defend the girl in question; to protect themselves, but all Levi could grasp was that they were two lousy teenagers with no sense of care in the world.

Okay, so maybe the blonde, [which he had soon learned to be “Armin”] was trying to put some effort in, but Levi wasn’t sure Eren could even tell what day it was.

He watched the brunette with glazed eyes, still lost in his own escape from the boredom what was this interview but Levi could still work out his appearance through the haze.

Eren was a total mess.

The boy stared soullessly at the desk, hooded eyes occasionally putting in the effort to blink lazily and Levi could see the dark shadows that rested above his cheekbones. Eren’s hair was tangled; unkempt and the longer he looked at him, the more Levi began to feel sorry for the boy, his laziness projected his emotions and Levi almost wanted to pet him.

Levi barely registered the strong teal invading his vision, the soft murmur of Armin’s voice filling the room as the raven slowly focused his eyes, the teal forming a harsher green and only when the haze had passed did Levi notice the brunette staring directly at him, _or, through him, as it felt._

Eren’s gaze bore straight through Levi. The brunette’s face held no emotion as he locked his eyes onto the shorter male; Levi half tempted to turn around just to collect his conscience but decided on blinking harshly a few times instead, _smooth,_ before slowly turning his head and vision towards the larger blonde officer.

But much to his displeasure, Eren had proven faster than Levi and decided to interrupt the other witnesses’ statement, catching the room off guard with a firm “Who is he?” which sent a nervous shiver through the raven, clearly aware that the question was directed at him and he felt like someone had slowly dragged an ice cube down his spine. _Probably something Hanji would do,_ Levi thought.

Before he could register the question, Erwin’s attention was already following Eren’s stare and locking onto Levi. The raven looked back at blue eyes confused, unsure whether or not he should speak, _because really, it was none of Eren’s business_ but Erwin took it upon himself to cover for him; the shorter male deciding on keeping his mouth shut, leaning back against the wall once more.

“This is Levi,” the blonde started, his hand gesturing between the raven and the brunette who were still opposite each other, even with distance. “He’ll be standing in for this interview only. Eren if you could-”

“He doesn’t need to be here.” Eren interrupted.

Mixed reactions showed on the officers present; Erwin displayed annoyance whilst Levi held a clearly unimpressed look on his face, one most people in the room were already highly familiar with. The officer Levi still wasn’t too familiar with also displayed Erwin’s annoyance and Levi could tell that the brunette needed to cut the glare and be put in his place before Levi took those vibrant eyes out himself.

But maybe Levi was wrong, perhaps Eren did have more fight in him than he’d let himself believe when the boys had entered, not giving up with his obvious attempts to intimidate the investigator and so with a sigh, Levi took his foot off the wall and raised his identity tag.

“My name is Levi Ackerman.” _Eren perked up at that. “_ I’m a forensic investigator and I’m currently working on figuring out what happened to your… _friend._ Now if you’d like to cooperate and stop being such a _little shit_ I’m sure Erwin would appreciate it. Also, I’m sure your friend here would appreciate it if you grew a pair and helped him out, rather than letting him do all the talking and then leaving him to go home alone tonight. Is that alright with you, Jaegar?”

Levi finished his speech with a drop of his tag; letting if fall back loosely around his neck as he swallowed the lump in his throat, making sure to _definitely, absolutely_ not make even one second of eye contact with his Chief who was no doubt trying to burn a hole through the raven’s brain with his eyes, the other officers also making sure not to look at the Chief even though they had sat silently throughout.

He knew Erwin told him to stand quietly but there was something in Levi that told him they would get nothing out of this kid unless he was told straight. At first, Levi thought he made the wrong decision. Eren stared between the raven and the Chief blankly, almost showing a look of surprise that he had been spoken to this way and it wasn’t until he saw the brunette let out a small laugh did Levi think he might actually get something from him.

What Levi didn’t expect though, was the radiant smile Eren sent in his direction; his lips drawn at the corners as he let out what almost sounded like a giggle. Levi felt like Eren came to life from his words, _which was definitely not what he had intended,_ but if it got Erwin the information he needed then Levi didn’t care.

Except it didn’t.

“Excuse me Chief; could you leave?”

Levi felt his jaw drop, along with the rest of the room including the boy’s shorter friend as all attention was sent his way. At first Levi thought the boy was insane, asking the Chief to _leave_ his own interview and the raven was surprised at the collected expression Erwin held as he addressed the boy.

“I’m sorry?”

“I’m asking you to leave.” Eren repeated and Erwin’s jaw finally fell along with the rest.

“Eren Jaeger this is an important situation you’re in and your behaviour is extremely inappropriate. Now, I’ll give you one last chance,” Erwin huffed tired, rubbing his eyes with his fingers before blue met green once more, “Eren if you don’t cooperate, I’ll have to arrest you.”

A thick silence filled the room, the atmosphere choking the officers and Levi didn’t dare look up from the desk where he kept his eyes, carefully listening in on the other two as he heard Eren agree to cooperate.

The interview proceeded slowly, Erwin began to root through the questions he had for Eren unaware of the others intentions, and only when he began to speak did Levi put all his attention back onto the interview.

Erwin folded down the paper, the list crossed from a distance at which Levi could see it before he heard the officer clear his throat.

“So Eren,” Erwin started. “Now that you wish to cooperate. Can you tell me what your relationship was to Mikasa?”

Eren shrugged in response, leaning back on his chair with a playful smirk on his lip.

At first the raven didn’t think he’d respond, wanting to play with, _or more likely piss off_ the officers before the brunette’s chair landed forward on all four legs; Eren’s expression changing to bored as he stared through Erwin.

“Of course.”

Erwin let out a sigh of relief, Eren’s half smirk reappearing on his face as he watched the Chief settle his achievement. But before Erwin could question him, the brunette leant forward slightly, resting his elbows on the desk and using a hand to support his jaw.

Levi felt the others gaze, and the moment he felt eyes on him, the raven turned his attention to the brunette, his expression flat whilst the younger boy loosened his smile.

“I’ll tell Officer Levi anything he wants to know.”

The investigator felt a lump form in his throat; eyes still meeting green and suddenly he felt increasingly worse than he had before.

Levi came to the conclusion that asking to stand in on an interview, was not something he would be requesting in the future.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feedback is loved <3


	5. Hanji doesn't bite, and so Levi told her.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Levi tells Hanji about his interview with Eren.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still alive, yo.  
> /Throws update at you/  
> Sorry hella late update.

As the day progressed, the temperature of the weather decreased; leaving the short forensic investigator consistently wiping his nose in discomfort.

Levi had decided to change back into his overalls before going back to the lab, partly so he could protect his suit from any unwanted bacteria, and partly to save himself an extra ten minutes from the _human sized germ_ that was Hanji Zoe. The raven had folded his previous clothing, storing it carefully inside the fashionable rucksack he had brought with him prior to the scheduled stand in, and then secured his locker before leaving the changing rooms.

On his way towards the slowly cooling temperature of the laboratory, Levi decided upon himself that he had already had a long day. After a small deliberation with himself inside his own mind, _which he considered definitely not weird,_ he had decided that he completely deserved a nice, hot cup of tea. He knew this would be a wonderful idea.

This is a great idea!

And that’s how Levi found himself seated with a runny nose opposite a large mouth that just would not stop talking.

Terrible idea.

Levi had found himself cornered by his lab partner just before he could grasp at his cup by the till, leaving him no choice but to follow the arm dragging him towards the table in the corner where Hanji openly voiced her daily shenanigans.

“-idn’t know! Anyway so I pushed real hard on her temple and her eye just sort of came out?! I pushed it back in so it’s no big deal really… Right so once Petra stopped screaming-”

Without trying to fall asleep, Levi kept one ear open, surprisingly interested to know if she had any further evidence about their client’s case, but where Hanji had research, Hanji had destruction, and so Levi decided to save any arguments by sipping on his tea whilst she talked.

Twenty minutes later, Levi’s body had decided to drift off slightly, causing him to jump when the taller female opposite him carefully prodded his shoulder, backing off immediately to likely try to avoid an elbow to the face as the raven shook off his sleep, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

“Levi are you listening?”

Said male lowered his fists, glaring at the other with now reddened eyes.

“No. What did you say?” He responded bluntly, earning a head tilt from the female who followed with a hearty laugh and the tired male.

“Man, you sure are tired huh? Well wake up mister! It’s only six o’clock and we’ll be here for a while longer you know!” Hanji replied cheerfully, giving a small fist bump of inspiration to the raven who stared soullessly at her, before she coughed slightly, clearing her chest.

“Anyway I asked what happened at the interview. It can’t be that confidential since Erwin told me half of it anyway but you know…” Hanji said carelessly, waving her hands in exaggeration as she spoke before placing her now crossed arms on the table and leaning in on the shorter male. “Did you get what _you_ needed?”

At first, Levi spent a moment registering what she had even said in his tired state before it had clicked. Of course the interview was confidential! They were in the police force and there was absolutely _no way in hell_ that their Chief in command would have told her even what the two boys in question were wearing at that hour, surely.

Levi decided that he had two options at this point.

One. Go and ask Erwin what he had told the imbecile opposite him about their interview with Armin and Eren.

Two. Ask Hanji what Erwin had told her.

Levi decided he didn’t like either of those options. One meant having to walk down to Erwin’s office, _which the raven really wasn’t in the mood for_ , and two meant listen to Hanji talk, _again_.

Levi settled for the second option, it saved getting up.

“What did he tell you?” Levi asked, earning a small shrug and a huff from Zoe who then leant across the table, leaning her head against her left hand as she spoke.

“Not much. Said that Armin, the blonde kid, had pretty much answered everything and that Eren almost needed arresting. Other than that it was a clean interview blah blah blah, you know how Erwin is, he just nattered on about how great the force is and that it was a job well done.” Hanji straightened up, leaning towards the shorter male, her voice spoken in a lower tone. “But he didn’t mention anything about you though? So tell me, he lied to me didn’t he?”

Levi may say that Hanji was stupid, but he knew she was not easily convinced. He could imagine she had walked away from Erwin after their talk; a smile on her face and a skip in her step but she knew Erwin was providing her with false information, she wasn’t really that stupid.

“Yeah, he fed you bullshit again Hanji.”

Not like she didn’t know that already.

“So go on,” she started, a small sadistic smile growing on her face and Levi could swear he saw her glasses light up with anticipation. “Tell me what happened!”

It was only Hanji, she didn’t bite, and so Levi told her.

[…]

_“I’ll tell Officer Levi anything he wants to know.”_

_Levi stared emotionless back at the brunette who watched him almost lovingly. The boy had a soft smile on his face as he leant across the table, trying to convince the Chief in command to allow him some alone time with the raven and offering his knowledge of Mikasa in return. At first Levi thought the idea was ridiculous, but it wasn’t until he noticed the rest of the officers leaving the room alongside the smaller blonde, that it registered to him that Erwin actually thought this was a good idea._

_What an idiot._

_Levi watched as the rest of the room filed out the door, knowing that they were going to watch the two behind the hidden glass out the back, and so the raven didn’t really understand the necessity of them leaving when they would technically still be there anyway._

_The door shut and the raven found himself enclosed in silence._

_Eren didn’t speak a work at first. His stupid smile had left his face, so that was an achievement for Levi but it wasn’t until the sound of Erwin’s voice over the intercom telling them quote, “We don’t have all day”, that Levi decided to swallow his pride and take a seat._

_Levi pulled out the chair opposite the brunette, accidently brushing legs with the obviously taller male before he readjusted in his seat, collecting the yellow folder Erwin had left him on the side._

_Levi pulled out the sheet from the back containing Eren’s questioning information before scanning the text. Luckily for Levi, Eren only had 5 questions left, and so he hoped to get them out of the way as soon as possible._

_Erwin didn’t give a particular order, right?_

_“Eren, did you kill Mikasa?”_

_The brunette immediately raised his head, his eyes widening dramatically as he stared at the shorter investigator. That was supposed to be Eren’s final question, but Levi was hoping somewhere in the back of his mind that Eren would just own up so he could go home already._

_“What the fuck?”_

_Not the answer Levi was looking for._

_With a short sigh, Levi slouched slightly in his chair, slapping the folder onto the desk before crossing his arms, his stare holding the brunette’s strongly._

_“Look kid, I don’t know what games you’re playing but I want to go home at a decent time today and I’m sure you do too. Erwin’s been stupid enough to listen to your dumb request, so just answer the fucking questions so we can get out of here okay?”_

_Eren nodded slowly in response, his eyes trailing back towards the table as Levi let out a small huff of relief before recollecting the folder._

_After some time passed, Levi got as little out of Eren as he had before the rest of his team had left the room. The raven began to feel beyond agitated as the brunette stared at the table, his hands in his lap whilst he barely acknowledged the older male and Levi made the mistake of wondering why he was even in this situation in the first place._

_“Eren?”_

_The taller boy lifted his head at his name, a small “mhm?” echoing in his throat as he watched the raven sit up in his seat._

_“Look Eren you can either answer the questions or I’m leaving.” Levi started bluntly. “I don’t know why you even asked everyone else to leave, or why you’ve suddenly had a change in attitude but I’m done playing around. We have 4 questions. So let’s just answer them and go home because your friend is waiting for you to hurry your ass up. If there’s anything you want to say, say it now because after that, I’m reading, and you’re responding or I’m leaving.”_

_After his speech Levi leant back in his chair, watching as the brunette straightened up his posture, focusing all his attention on the raven before him and watching him with emerald eyes. Once he felt comfortable, Eren smiled gently at the officer, a question playing at his lips and he searched Levi for any signs of negativity._

_“Okay, I’ll answer your questions.” Eren spoke softly with a smile. “But when we’re done sir, can I ask you something? Only one question and we can leave. But you have to answer truthfully, because I’ll tell you everything I know…”_

_Levi deliberated for a moment to himself as he watched Eren’s gentle gaze. The boy seemed entirely harmless in honesty and Levi wondered for a moment if he could use the opportunity to manipulate him slightly in order to get that he wanted. Eren was a 19 year old boy, what was he going to ask Levi, really? How high up his undercut was? If he’d ever drunk underage? Levi felt himself inwardly laugh and so agreed to let Eren have one question, in which he would reply in all honesty and then Eren would tell him everything he knew about Mikasa Ackerman._

_“You get one question Eren, but not until I’m finished.” Levi stated, the brunette nodding eagerly as he straightened up in his seat, entirely focused on Levi._

_“So Eren… What was your relationship to Miss Ackerman?”_

_~~~_

_Levi had learnt a lot from Eren in the twenty minutes he spent questioning him. According to the brunette, Eren and Mikasa were adoptive relatives. His mother had wanted two children but had been unable to reproduce after Eren was born. With this she and Eren’s father decided to adopt Mikasa into their lives, thinking she would be the perfect sister for Eren as they grew up together. Levi learnt that Mikasa had meant the world and more to Eren. Again, according to the brunette, she had cared for him all his life, perhaps slightly over-protectively but she meant well and Eren misses her dearly._

_Levi also learned that prior to her death, Mikasa had opened herself up to Eren, sharing with him her feelings for him and claiming to have been in love with him since their childhood. Eren had told Levi she invited him to go camping with some friends, to which he dragged Armin and then later that night when everyone was asleep, she confessed her love for him, making Eren uncomfortable and so he left, leaving her alone whilst he cleared his head._

_Eren told Levi that he had gone down to the creek near the campsite, mindlessly throwing stones into the water and trying to forget the whole situation of his sister being in love with him until Armin was by his side, dragging him back to the camp where the rest of their friends had fled in fear, leaving Mikasa alone and dead on the damp grass, where Eren held her until the police arrived somewhat an hour later._

_Levi noted everything Eren was saying down in the notepad he had brought with him. The recorder was still on, but he hoped some of the information would spark a flame in Hanji Zoe that could help them discover what happened to the girl since Eren could give no indication of that. Once finished, Levi packed away his notes, placing his satchel on the table as he collected the folders contents, storing it away for Erwin to take back with him._

_“Okay Eren,” Levi started, placing the folder out of the way and eyeing the brunette, “I have to ask because it’s written down for me so just answer it. Did you Kill Mikasa?”_

_Eren met the raven’s eyes, shaking his head in an indicating motion as he let out a sigh of relief._

_“No, I didn’t kill her.”_

_And with that Levi turned off the recording device._

_Releasing a proud huff of air, Levi stood from his seat, stretching his arms over his head before he turned round to collect his suit jacket._

_“See kid, that wasn’t so hard.” He started, picking up his satchel over one arm and collecting the folder as Eren watching him almost concerned._

_“Hurry up, let’s go.” Levi stated, slowly making his way out of the room only to be tugged back, a small “wait” left Eren’s lips as a gentle, loose hand clasped around the raven’s wrist. Levi felt almost uncomfortable at the contact._

_After awkwardly staring at the brunette for a few seconds, Levi shrugged out of his hold, carefully freeing himself from the boy before regaining his composure. Eren’s eyes were almost hypnotising, it concerned Levi mildly._

_“What do you-“_

_“You said you’d answer my question too, honestly, like how I answered yours.”_

_Levi raised his head slightly, looking up at the boy who watched him hopingly. Levi wasn’t a liar, and he was used to sticking to his word and so leaning his weight on his right leg, he crossed his arms with a huff, ushering the boy to speak up._

_“Fine hurry up, you have one question and then we’re going, okay?”_

_Levi watched Eren nod his head, his expression lightening as Eren began to smile._

_“You’ll answer truthfully right? Completely hone-“_

_“Yeah yeah kid I’ll answer honestly now spit it out already.”_

_The taller boy let out a small laugh, his right hand grasping his own left arm as if to contain his excitement as he smiled down at the officer. Eren shifted his weight onto his right leg, looking out through his pretty lashes towards the raven who stood silently, anticipating Eren’s question. With one last breath of courage, Eren let out a small cough, capturing Levi’s attention._

_“Officer Levi, sir… What’s your mobile number?”_

_[…]_

“Did you give it to him?!” Hanji practically jumped in excitement as the two investigators made their way through the hall towards the laboratory, Levi having to tell his story half way since they would be late back otherwise.

Levi was surprised she had listened silently throughout, not even bothering to make her usual remarks as she just let the male speak. He had given Hanji the notes from the interview half way through his recap of that day, hoping she would find use for them later and keep occupied whilst Levi worked and then he could give Petra a copy of the notes for Mikasa’s files once they were back in the lab.

“He asked me to answer honestly and I said I would.” Levi responded, pulling his phone out of his overalls to turn off the vibration, notifying him that he had received yet another message, _probably from Eren, probably containing another unnecessary_ amount _of emojis._

Before the raven could return the device to his pocket he felt it removed from his hands, Hanji raising the phone out of Levi’s reach as she easily unlocked the code and checked the messages.

“So you DID give it to him?! Oh look he sends hearts, Levi! Let me text him back!”

Levi felt himself sigh, resting his palm over the laboratory door authenticator before putting the code in. He didn’t bother to get his phone back from Hanji, at the end of the day, it wasn’t hard to text someone back saying, “sorry, that wasn’t actually me”, and so he let her get on with it whilst he rearranged his notes at the table opposite where Petra would usually sit.

Within half an hour, Hanji gently resupplied Levi with his phone, his instinct telling him to check it instantly but he waited until she’d left to fetch the notes he’d given her earlier.

Pulling up the screen, Levi sighed at the messages, grateful that Hanji had at least been decent minus the one idiotic text of, “What are you wearing? I’m wearing blue overalls ;)” before closing the phone.

Just as he was about to put it away, Levi decided he should probably not pretend that he was a complete idiot who liked to send hundreds of emojis of cats and flowers in his messages, and so he typed a simple response to Eren’s last text, a polite, “Sorry, Hanji had my phone. I’m busy.” Before watching as the device lit up, assuring him his message had been delivered with a pop up of,

“ **Message sent to: Cutie pie Eren. <3**”

With a loud, audible groan, Levi made a mental note to never, ever, let Hanji Zoe near his phone ever again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feedback is loveddddddd.


	6. If Hanji believed it, it must be true?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After their latest discoveries, Levi finds out Hanji is a big believer in myths and legends. The worst part was, she almost had Levi believing it too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a big /push/ to get the story moved on, [mostly so I can get past writers block] but it also helps develop the characters and to let you guys start guessing at what's going on so far.
> 
> So at the end of the chapter, tell me this.  
> Who is right? Hanji, or Levi?
> 
> [PS. I know nothing about forensic science lol i'm just winging it.]

“Farlan?!”

In an attempt to remove the outside dirt from his boots, Levi shoved his nose down into his scarf, eyeing the faux leather as he shuffled his feet along the door mat just inside his apartment.

Levi had _finally_ finished for the day and nothing appeared more welcoming than the sight of an empty home, and a warm cup of tea. Whilst at the door, the raven untied the large white woollen scarf from around his neck; hanging it over the coat rack with slim fingers as well as hanging up his jacket, before making his way to the small living area.

In an attempt to save money on central heating, Levi opted to pulling the sleeves of his woollen black jumper down over his hands as he made his way past the couch; quickly flicking on the television, before picking up speed in order to reach the kettle.

Just as the steam chimed from the heated warmth that caressed Levi’s hands, the male felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, a short message from Hanji telling him she was excited to continue their research tomorrow, (at gratefully, a more pleasing time for the two) before ranting off into a list of conversations Levi just generally wasn’t even remotely interested in.

It’s not that Levi didn’t like Hanji… It’s more like, Levi doesn’t like Hanji when her mouth is open… Or when she’s talking, or when she’s loud, or when she’s teasing him. The list goes on.

With the warmth of his pristine mug heating his hands, Levi carefully slouched into the couch, lowering himself into it far enough to give the illusion that it would swallow him at any moment, without trying to spill any of his precious tea. Since the news was already on and the remote was a _whole 3 feet away,_ the Raven left the channel as he unlocked his phone, balancing the tea on chest whilst he browsed with one hand.

Levi was in a… Compromising position, as some would put it.

Albeit long, his day of work wasn’t some of the worst he’d had. He was relatively happy considering his tired state, and he was quite relieved with their progress. But something about their client seemed, off.

Mikasa’s wounds were extremely indistinguishable to any common wildlife attack, heck the two forensic investigators practically cried “ _wolf!”_ when they first saw her but then the suspects had said that she had been left entirely alone when she was found…

Not only was Mikasa taking up half of Levi’s precious down time; clouding his thoughts with questions regarding her situation but her idiot brother decided he was going to push his way into the other side of Levi’s already packed brain.

Ever since he’d left the questioning room with the boy, Eren’s confidence seemed to have perked up entirely. The younger male began flooding the raven’s phone with all sorts of questions Levi simply couldn’t be bothered with, which left the older male sending back, half the time, barely acknowledged answers just to humour the boy.

“ _Officer Levi, you should meet me outside of work! We can go for coffee? ^^”_

_“No.”_

_“Aw, come on Levi. I don’t bite!”_

Eren undeniably had a split personality, _Levi decided_ , but the older male didn’t understand how the brunette had gained so much confidence from the few hours of distance they’d had from each other. Levi genuinely began to wonder if it was even Eren he was talking to.

The thing that confused Levi even more however, was why he couldn’t stop replying to the boy. Whether it was a one word answer, or even being generous enough to send five or six words to the boy, [ _because “go away you annoying idiot” was still better than “no”, right?]_ Levi found himself still replying every time his phone went off, and only when he felt himself waiting over five minutes for the brunettes reply did Levi notice, he began to feel nervous.

_That’s not good._ Immediately the short male felt his skin become impossibly paler. He was nervous because Eren took longer to reply. He shouldn’t be nervous, _this damn kid_! He shouldn’t make him nervous!

Leaving his tea on the small coffee table, the raven turned off his phone, deciding to call it an early night.

On his way across the landing, up the stairs of the apartment, Levi heard the door go. A clear, female voice shrieked over another male’s in excitement as a loud “Levi, ARE YOU HOME?!” echoed through the small area, leaving Farlan to calm down an excited Isabel whilst the raven laughed his way to his room.

He wasn’t being rude, but Levi was ready for sleep, and she’d understand. He loved Isabel, ( _in a platonic kind of way, of course)_ but he’d be able to see her another day, or when he’d woken up if she decided to bunk the couch again.

And so after a brief shower and quick change of clothes, Levi turned off the lights and caught up on some sleep.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

At 9am, Hanji was already on Levi’s arm. At 10, she was buying him coffee, and at 10:30, they were back in the lab, pulling out samples from overnight testing.

It turned out Isabel had bunked the couch that night, giving Levi a chance to surprise her with an alarming wakeup call as he draped himself all over her at 8 o’clock, to which she surprisingly seemed more excited than annoyed and tackled the older male to the floor, waking up the blonde in the house.

But Levi had only been able to spend about ten minutes with the girl before he was whisked away by his eager partner, desperate to find out their discoveries from the previous day spent with Mikasa. ( _Either that or Hanji just really wanted to have coffee with Levi, which was probably true.)_

And so now, with gloves tight on his small hands, and a mask plastered across his mouth to fight off any excess germs, Levi held up two small tubes towards the white wall, watching as Hanji noted the colours of the two against her research.

“Hmm, well, they’re both definitely different!” Hanji started, “One is purple, and the other one has more of a blue hue, but it’s still quite strong… Let me check it!” The said female swiftly turned on her feet, almost causing Levi to throw the two small tubes of dyed bodily fluid onto himself before he caught his footing, cringing.

In record time, the brunette was back next to the raven, holding a chart ( _which they should really both know by now)_ in both their views before lining up the colours with her fingers.

Levi felt his eyebrows furrow.

“Okay! So, this one,” Hanji tapped the left tube with her finger, “is purple which means we have traces of animal saliva, woohoo!” She directed a bright smile towards the raven, receiving a glare in return before she coughed slightly, looking back towards the chart.

“And this one… This one… Uhh-“

“Human saliva.” The male cut her off.

“…Yeah… Yeah that’s human saliva alright…”

Levi felt Hanji’s mood deteriorate, not understanding the outcome of the tests without jumping to conclusions as she looked back at the shorter male, trying to gather any expression he was willing to show.

Levi just shrugged.

“We should do them again.” Levi suggested, placing the tubes back in their holders as Hanji slowly paced back to Mikasa, carefully grazing her gloved thumb over Mikasa’s eye wounds without any care for the vulgarity of the situation.

With a small “hmm”, Hanji began collecting more samples from the girl, this time in a different place as she paced the lab with sullen steps. Levi could tell she had something on her mind, there was no way The Hanji Zoe would ever be in a bad mood without consideration, and so to save himself from her pitiful sadness, the male decided he should probably try to cheer her up a little.

“Zoe, what’s on your mind?” Levi asked, genuine and rare care in his voice as he spoke.

“Ahh” Said female replied, her tone still dragged as she collected more fluids, her back facing the shorter male. “I don’t know, it’s stupid really…”

“Mhmm, and you’re really stupid so spit it out already.”

Hanji laughed, _mild success,_ before making her way back over to the raven, squeezing the extracted fluids into a clean test tube as she did. Once they were placed into spare slots, Hanji put them to one side, before removing Levi’s notes from the male’s hands in order to gain his attention. Levi looked up at her questionably before crossing his arms.

“Levi, do you believe in myths or legends?”

_Oh no not this again._

“Hanji ~”

“No Levi I’m serious this time!-“

“Hanji come on, really, again?”

“No but Levi, what if!” Hanji’s eyes widened dramatically as she practically threw herself to Levi, clinging on to his forearms like she knew he’d run away any minute. “There’s been so many reports about it lately and there’s human saliva and there’s animals and wolves live in forests right and these things could be real Levi, they could!”

“Hanji, breathe!” Levi grabbed the panting female for support, watching her with a confused expression as she raised her glasses to rest in her hair, her voice strained as she caught her breath.

“Listen, Levi, I know you’re not a big dreamer but I’ve believed in these things since I was _a little girl…_ I’ve seen things Levi, I’ve studied; I’ve met people!” The raven watched as the female paced the lab clutching her hair, visibly emotional with her conclusion. “I know, I know it sounds weird okay, absurd! But consider it… Consider that myths and legends _had to have_ come from somewhere! Someone must have seen these things, they don’t just make them up Levi they don’t!”

Hanji was right, Levi never had been a big believer in urban myths and legends. Levi hadn’t moved from his spot near the wall as she spoke. He had seen Hanji go mildly insane before so he figured she would tire herself out. Part of him thought she had a point, but the stubborn side of himself told him that she was utterly out of her mind. The raven looked up to see the older female watching him sincerely.

“I just… I can feel something weird about this Levi…”

“You mean like the time that guy got stabbed with-“

“Yes, I know that the guy who got stabbed with a carving knife was _not_ _bitten by a vampire”,_ Hanji started, Levi snickered. “But that just looked convenient Le… I don’t know… I really feel like this could be something…” The shorter male watched as Hanji sunk into his arms, ignoring the spilt research he had on his overalls as she buried herself in his hold.

 Levi had his own conclusions, much more reasonable ones but he guessed he could indulge her in her own. He might not like Hanji very much, but that doesn’t mean he likes to see her upset over something she’s passionate about.

“Okay then Hanji…”

Hanji perked up in his hold, grabbing his forearms again as she looked up at the raven.

“Okay?”

“We’ll _consider…_ Your ideas. But you have to consider mine.” Levi watched the girl stand swiftly, visibly shocked at his decision to not throw her ideas aside.

“Wha- Really?! We can consider it?! Oh Levi I swear I can prove this, I kno-“

“Just consider this Hanji.” Levi cut her off, pushing her back before she could throw her arms around him in a constricting hug.

“Eren was found holding Mikasa at the scene. He was crying, and highly emotional, so _consider this_. He is a hormonal teenager, so he probably held her close for a while and spewed his tears all over her which, may have led to him perhaps, accidentally spitting and dribbling all over his dead sister. Hanji, go and do two more extra tests, and whilst you do them, consider that, okay?”

The raven watched as Hanji took in his conclusion. It was obvious she felt kind of stupid with her own idea now that Levi’s seemed more realistic, but she shrugged it off with a big smile, and a bright “Aye aye, Captain!” before pulling her glasses back over her eyes, and searching the cupboard for more test tubes. As she retrieved a box containing two sets of tubes, she grabbed an order list with her and skipped over to Levi, waving it in his face.

“Levi we need more on order, there’s only 10 in there now. Please take this to reception for me?” Hanji asked with a smile, knowing Levi would be happy to see the back of the lab for a little while and so he snatched the paper from her hands with a small shrug, before making his way over to the lab door.

“Hanji, don’t break anything whilst I’m gone!” He called over his shoulder. As he opened the door, Levi almost walked straight into the shorter female secretary Petra, who he pushed back gently in order to avoid the stains from his overalls destroying her clothes before he greeted her, leaving her with a “watch Hanji for me” as he left the lab.

The reception wasn’t far, luckily for Levi, and so the short male decided to pace quickly to the receptionist, feeling uncomfortable about his attire as the station had open doors most of the day. Before he made it to the counter, Levi saw blonde hair tied in a bun looking down at the desk.

“Annie.”

Annie was an apprentice at the station. Unfortunately for her, she had the job of being receptionist until she qualified her college for the job as an officer of the force, but Levi didn’t mind her, as long as it meant he didn’t have to be on reception.

Levi made his way up to the counter, ignoring the other blonde figure seated in the waiting area before tiptoeing slightly to pass over the paper.

“Please file this for repeat, it needs to be ordered as soon as possible.” He told her as she looked up at him, a small, barely unnoticeable smile came with a nod from the girl.

“No problem Officer.” She started, before using her hand to usher him closer, her expression changing. Although confused, Levi watched her before leaning in, their faces inches apart as she began to whisper.

“Uh, Levi this kid has been here for about half an hour… He asked to see Erwin and I told him he was busy today but he like… Won’t leave…” Levi felt his face form an expression of confusion before carefully, as to not get caught, facing the small blonde seated opposite the reception.

_Oh, it was Eren’s friend,_ Levi realised waving his hand to Annie as if to signal that he will deal with it, before thanking her for the orders and slowly making his way over to the blonde.

From a distance the kid looked like he could pull off a really young He-Man if he tried hard enough, and so when Levi got comfortably close enough, he watched the blonde, shuffling his shoes.

“ _…He-man.”_

“Excuse me?”

Fuck. Levi felt his eyes widen. Did he just call the kid He-Man?! Looking down, Levi watched as the younger boy stared up at him with a confused expression. Levi wasn’t actually meant to call him that, he just thought it as he heard Annie hold back a laugh from behind the reception. Levi let out a cough into his hand before deciding to start again.

“I mean, what are doing here kid? Are you here to be questioned or something?”

Levi watched as the boy played with his hands, avoiding the officer before deliberating with himself. The boy looked concerned, like he had something on his mind but wasn’t sure if he wanted to say it, and so Levi decided to take the soft approach, crouching down to the younger’s eye level before gently patting his hands.

“Hey, um, what was it? Aaro- no Armin right?”

Levi watched as the blonde met his eyes, his head nodding in agreement to Levi guessing his name.

“Armin are you okay? Is there something you want me to tell Erwin for you?”

Armin was clearly conflicted. Heck, the boy couldn’t look at the forensic investigator without tearing up and before Levi could catch him, the blonde stood, wiping his eyes and pacing quickly to the door. After glancing back at Annie concerned who only shrugged in shared confusion, Levi quickly jogged out the reception doors, catching the boy who was chanting a small sob of, “ _I shouldn’t have come here_ ” under his breath.

Levi grabbed Armin’s free arm, pulling him round to face him in what almost appeared to be an awkward caress before the blonde clung on to Levi’s shirt, unsure about his motive. Something was seriously wrong with this kid.

“Armin, hey what is it?” He started, gently rubbing the blonde’s arms to restore some warmth through the thin sweater he was wearing. “You’re not in trouble you can tell me.”

“No, no I’m not in troub- trouble I know” Armin replied, his head meeting Levi’s chest in a small sob before he looked back up at the investigator, his eyes brim with tears that were forced to escape due to the cold wind.

“ _You’re in trouble Levi...”_

The raven felt his expression falter as Armin clung to him harder. Was this kid joking? Levi wasn’t in trouble, what was he talking about?

“Kid, I’m fine, there’s noth-“

“No listen to me!” Armin’s expression was strong, freezing Levi in place as the bitter wind pushed them lightly, caressing Levi through his overalls. Levi watched as Armin’s skin slowly paled in the winter weather.

“ _I saw some… I saw something Levi and you nee-need to be careful….”_ The blonde clung onto Levi tighter, teeth chattering slightly due to the cold weather. “ _Levi, I can’t tell you what I saw but just p-please be careful. Tell your friends- tell Erwin to be careful please.”_

Immediately Levi felt constricted. What could he do!? The blonde’s fingernails dug into his chest like claws, his eyes bloodshot from tears as he watched the raven, begging.

So Levi did all he could think to do. He nodded, gently prying the boy off him; watching as Armin wiped his eyes with his thin sleeve. As if to notice what he’d done, the younger boy’s eyes widened; wind brushed through his hair as he held a hand up to his mouth, willing him not to speak anymore.

The blonde left the station, leaving the older male confused, considering his words in the cold.

Levi watched as the younger boy held his arms, his thin sweater and jean shorts doing nothing to protect him from the cold as he trudged down the path, and so the raven opted to quickly run into the reception, grabbing his scarf from behind the desk.

Levi caught up with Armin; he gave him his scarf as the boy watched him with wide eyes; Levi left without a word.

He went back to the lab, ignoring Annie’s questions along the way.

He entered the door code; changed his overalls.

Levi told Hanji to be careful; she saluted him with a smile and a giggle before going back to her work.

Levi didn’t know why he told her that…

He didn’t know what was going on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kisses for over 100 Kudos, thank you all.<3

**Author's Note:**

> Support is loved so please don't hesitate to let me know your opinions, it will only help me improve! ^-^/
> 
> P.s I dont hate Mikasa, I promise there is a reasoning for her death. And let's avoid confusion before we start, Levi is roughly 28 y/o.


End file.
